January 28, 2014

Part 1 is behind us and part 2 is right here! Keep on reading for more of our patented (patent pending) reviews of WeLoveFine’s Sesame Street t-shirt design contest entries!

Okay, that’s really cute. I’d also like it if all three of those Cookie Monsters were on the shirt. It’d be all like OM Nom nom (nom).

My rating: 5

Okay, whoever had “Bert and Ernie spoof the Kenan and Kel logo” in the office pool wins. My geeky obscur-o-meter is going off.

My rating: 5

My favorite part of this piece isn’t the great attention to detail, or the soft colors, or the subtle realism, but it’s Cookie Monster’s big round belly. I’ve always loved that cookie-filled belly of his.

My rating: 4

Okay, I totally get why Sesame Workshop wouldn’t want to have a t-shirt spoofing a series about a cancer-ridden meth cook, but come on. Heisenbird! What a perfect, yet unfortunate parody.

My rating: 4

This picture takes on a new meaning if you think of the cookie as being his tongue. His brown, spotted, crumbling tongue. Just flaking away in his mouth after poisoning himself with too many baked goods. Was it worth it, Cookie Monster? Was it???

My rating: 2

This is such a simple idea, which could easily be used for any of the Sesame characters, but I really like the way it looks. And I can’t think of a better example for love than the look of pure bliss on Cookie Monster’s face as he sucks on a cookie as big as his head.

My rating: 4

Wow, this is a fantastic homage to not only the animated segments of Sesame Street, but the Sesame contributions of the legendary Bud Luckey. I don’t just want this on a t-shirt, I want it framed and hanging on my living room wall.

This is a cute use of the Sesame faces, though I still don’t care for that “paint splatter” style. Also, Abby Cadabby looks like a chipmunk. There, I said it.

My rating: 3

Uh. Huh. Baby Cookie Monster, surrounded by dogs. For some reason. Or something. I suppose this is a thing someone might want. For reasons. I imagine.

My rating: 1

Yikes, you might as well put a unibrow on Danny Trejo and ask him to scare the crap out of a bunch of 2-6 year olds. That right there is not a guy I’d want to deliberately humiliate.

My rating: 3

Here’s an art style I don’t think I’ve seen applied to the Sesame characters before. Aside from The Count, whose giant head looks a little out of place, I think they all look really interesting. I’d be interested in seeing more characters in this style, as they jump around in different directions, possibly in a search for their eyeballs.

My rating: 4

Rule #672: Try to make your contest submissions actually, you know, visible. This could be a really funny “Batty Bat” reference, but it’s all either covered up by the shirt or small and pixellated. ‘A’ for effort, but ‘D-‘ for execution.

My rating: 3

Here’s another one by our pal, Smig! I don’t think I knew how much I wanted to see Telly wearing a tutu, but now I don’t know how I ever lived without it.

My rating: Withheld, since the artist is our pal.

This one gets Geek Points if only for the spot-on casting. The Count as Darth Vader, Big Bird and Oscar as the Droids, and my favorite, Telly as Chewbacca (thus avoiding yet another Cookie Monster/Chewbacca mashup). I can’t quite tell who the floating heads of Bert and Ernie are supposed to be, but I’m sure they have their own 25-page character descriptions on Wookiepedia.

My rating: 4

Can’t you see this one embroidered onto a tween girl’s t-shirt? And on her purse? And her backpack? And then when she’s old enough and jaded and filled with nostalgia, as a tattoo on her lower back?

My rating: 4

Remember that time Cookie Monster’s hand turned into a cookie? And then he had to try really hard not to eat his own hand, but then the predictable thing happened and suddenly his hand became just another scattered pile of cookie crumbs around his mouth and all over the floor? Yeah, that’s a thing that happened.

My rating: 3

So, we’re still doing Obama/Hope parodies, huh? Or maybe he’s starting his campaign early for the next ToughPigs Election.

My rating: 2

I love that we live in a world where someone took the time to draw Big Bird with this “I ain’t got no time for your crap” look on his face, wearing those ridiculous glasses that shouldn’t be called “glasses” since there’s no actual glass in them. That’s not just dedication, that’s Street.

My rating: 4

I don’t really get why all of these guys are stuck in a giant jar, but it’s all worth it for Bert’s expression. Forget the rest of them, just put Bert in a jar and I’ll be happy.

My rating: 3

Is the story here that Oscar took the time to spray paint some photo realistic portraits of his friends on the wall? Although I totally buy that he’d be into graffiti, it’s a little too much “homage” and not enough “vandal” for his personality.

My rating: 2

I’m surprised that we haven’t seen Cookie Monster with that “just got caught eating someone else’s cookies” look on his face before. It seems like it would come up more often. Or maybe he just never feels actual shame for stealing other people’s food.

My rating: 4

This looks like the sort of thing my grandmother would have framed in her basement. She probably bought it a few decades ago, then left it in a room that she never goes into. Maybe she saw something in it back then, but she’s completely forgotten what that might’ve been. But oh well, it’s in the basement, and nobody ever goes down there, so she might as well leave it up.

My rating: 2

HA!!! How has this not been done before? Or maybe it has and we just forgot about it.

My rating: 5

Is it weird that this piece just seems wrong to me because Big Bird is covered in international Sesame logos, and he’s not an international character. I mean, feel free to cover Elmo in whatever you want. That dude gets around.

My rating: 3

That look on Oscar’s face. It’s like he’s simply astonished at the amount of broken cars he has. Like he’s an 8-year-old who just got a Nintendo 64 for Christmas.

My rating: 3

It’s kinda cute that the characters are crawling all over the t-shirt, but this is the rare design that has not one, not two, but three Muppet butts.

My rating: 3

This is a great idea for a t-shirt. So great, in fact, that I already own it. Replace “under the bed” with “in the closet”, and you’ve got this shirt available now from Threadless.

My rating: 2

I feel bad for The Addams Family’s Thing. Not only is he incapable of enjoying a good cookie and glass of milk, but he’s in dire need of a haircut.

My rating: 2

Yeah. Yeah, I totally want a “Dance Yourself to Sleep” t-shirt. With dancing sheep. And Ernie’s pajamas. And all those things!

My rating: 5

Great idea, but it’s like looking into the sun. After a radiation bomb went off. And we’re not even wearing sunglasses.

Waiter, I asked you to hold the eyeballs. Also, I refuse to eat anything with an unidentified blue sauce on it.

My rating: 2

Speaking of disgusting food, a word to the wise: Never eat fruit with black hair growing on it. The faces are okay to eat. Those are chock full of vitamins.

My rating: 4

I wrote a song. It goes like this: “Stock aaart! Plus some cooookieees. That’s all you geeet. Don’t ask for mooooore.” And then there’s some banjo, and maybe a wood block. I haven’t figured out the bridge yet.

My rating: 1

The Count looks like he has a secret. I hope it’s not just a pun involving the word “count”. No, no that’s exactly what it is.

My rating: 2

I am a sucker for a Muppet wearing a top hat. And a tuxedo. And framed by cookies. And pretty much everything about this picture. Which I guess I just listed out.

My rating: 5

I live in Brooklyn, so I see my fair share of hipsters on a daily basis. Big Bird, with his glasses and scarf, totally looks like one here. But Elmo in a t-shirt and Grover in a vest don’t really scream “hipster”. Maybe if they had mustaches, or were riding an old timey bicycle with one giant wheel.

My rating: 2

Don’t do it, cookie! He’s no good for you! You’re gonna get hurt in the end. This is a doomed relationship.

My rating: 4

I do not like The Big Bang Theory. I’m a geek, so I’m totally allowed to think that the show doesn’t have my best interests in mind. That said, this is actually a pretty good mashup. I just wish I didn’t hate half of it with such a burning passion.

My rating: 4

Seriously? Why “Seriously?” Seriously. So serious.

My rating: 3

My god… it’s full of cookies!

My rating: 2

I don’t think I’ve ever seen Oscar so slender or dressed so dapper. It’s a good thing he held on to those fish bones, if only to keep a little of his credibility as a Grouch.

My rating: 4

These four awesome minimalist images have made the rounds on the internet a few times now (so many, I worry that the original artist may not be behind the entry into the contest). I really love them, if only for the bizarre way in which they break the characters down to their essences. But do they work as t-shirt designs? I think so, but maybe they’d be more fun as a group. Either way, they deserve to be put on some official merchandise, so I’d give them my vote.

My rating: 5

I am totally behind a Pinball Number Count-themed pinball machine, either in fan art or in real life. However, naked Oscar (there’s another Muppet butt!) is way too distracting. Keep your eyes on the awesome pinball reference and not so much on the can-less Grouch.

My rating: 3

I had no idea Big Bird was so patriotic. It’s like he’s running for President. Again. Or like he’s getting ready to debate Mitt Romney, as if Romney has a chance at beating the Bird.

My rating: 3

We’re halfway to the end! Which also means we’re halfway from the beginning. The middle is a strange place to be. Stay tuned for part 3, coming at you shortly!